Excerpt
As per Sikh customs/traditions as governed by the religious-spiritual Diktat of the Gurus, woman and man undertake to tie the nuptial-knot according to the prescribed code-of-conduct. They must reciprocate love and understanding, while taking due care to recognize each other’s uniqueness, thereby ensuring equality (as equals, and as life-partners). This shall eliminate any occurrence of conflict on the basis of a perceived threat to either’s identity. Harmony shall prevail, and all crisis situations shall be dealt with, in a spirit of compromise and commitment, keeping divorce at bay. The ascending divorce-rate in the Western society and culture, is attributable to the fact that the institution of marriage is considered to be no more than a legal contract, that can be nullified, with the stroke of the pens of the two parties and a Judge. Both must strive to achieve a state of camaraderie on all planes: emotional, physical, financial, intellectual, and spiritual. Celibacy has been repudiated in the strongest terms, for it is well nigh impossible to banish the thought of sexual-union.